VoIP ROI is elusive but quantifiable

By Tim Greene, NetworkWorld.com, 05/31/06

Figuring out the return on investment for VoIP is pretty complicated, but the general consensus is that there are few places to save a lot of money.

One of these places is international calling, and that is where America-Mideast Educational and Training Services is making its IP phone system pay for itself, according to a story in Network World.

Rather than pay international phone rates between the Mideast and, say, the company's Washington, D.C., office, users can make IP calls that traverse public IP networks such as the Internet. This saves the company $1,000 per month, minimum.

The less tangible benefit of VoIP comes in increased productivity generated by new capabilities. For example, IP conferencing makes it easier for employees to collaborate, making projects go more quickly and, arguably, with more success. Audio and video bridges, while the represent a capital expanse, may over time improve how well dispersed teams work together.

There are lots of other areas where VoIP can benefit companies but they are not as clearly cost savers. Companies can consolidate WAN circuits by eliminating some traditional voice trunks whose traffic now runs on an IP trunk.

They can also consolidate IT and telecom staffs to some degree since voice and data will run over the same infrastructure. This potential savings is shrinking because IT departments are already lean and can't tolerate shrinkage. Savings in this area might better be considered cost avoidance: rather than hiring someone new, converging voice and data networks can free up time for existing staffers.

Back to Convergence / VoIP Notes

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